Difference Makers: Sheriff Honors Team for Elderly Woman Rescue

Sheriff Hardin emphasizes the importance of recognizing dedicated service.

Mar 9, 2026 9:19 AM Mar 9, 2026 9:25 AM

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JERSEY - Calhoun County Sheriff Zach Hardin traveled Friday, March 6, 2026, to the Jersey County Sheriff’s Office to deliver lunch and certificates of recognition to Jersey County Sheriff's Office. Sheriff Hardin recognized Sgt. Kevin Ayres and 911 telecommunicators Kelly Nichols and Kaitlin Lewis for actions Hardin said helped locate a missing and endangered elderly woman with dementia who was traveling through Calhoun County.

“Oftentimes in law enforcement, negative news outweighs the positive,” Hardin said. “However, there are many moments that highlight the dedicated service and commitment to community shown by our dedicated law enforcement professionals every day that often go unseen or unheard.”

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Hardin said the recognition was intended to highlight “a shining moment of compassion, dedicated service and interdepartmental cooperation.”

In a letter of recognition drafted by Hardin, he wrote that on Thursday, Feb. 26, 2026, the Calhoun County Sheriff’s Office “was notified of an endangered elderly woman with dementia who was lost and entering Calhoun County, Illinois.” Hardin said Calhoun County dispatch began coordinating through Jersey County’s 911 dispatch center to gather information in an effort to locate her.

Hardin wrote that he was dispatched but was unable to locate the woman because “the subject was actively travelling in contradicting and confusing patterns ahead of me.” Ayres was also dispatched and searched for the woman, according to the letter.

“After a lengthy search, which included constant updates and location pings from your 911 Telecommunicators, Sergeant Ayres located the endangered elderly woman on a side road in rural Pleasant Hill, Pike County, Illinois,” Hardin wrote, adding that the location was “approximately fifty (50) miles outside of Sergeant Ayres assigned patrol area.”

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Hardin said Ayres “displayed ingenuity and compassion” after finding the woman, writing that her vehicle was nearly out of fuel and she had been driving for hours. According to the letter, Ayres drove her car to the nearest gas station with her in the passenger seat, used his own money to buy gas, and helped her inside.

“He used his own money to put gas in her gas tank, and took her inside and helped her find a chair and table to sit at, and spoke with gas station staff to provide her with something to eat and drink,” Hardin wrote.

Hardin wrote that when he arrived shortly afterward, Ayres had already taken those steps.

“All of the above-mentioned actions were done by Sergeant Ayres without the eyes of anyone else, showing true integrity and dedication to service by doing the right thing when nobody was watching,” Hardin wrote.

Hardin said Ayres had been in contact with the woman’s son and waited until his arrival.

Hardin also credited Nichols and Lewis for coordinating with Ayres, Calhoun County units and a family member. “Their skill and determination allowed Sergeant Ayres to locate the possibly endangered person; without which, the outcome could have been substantially different,” he wrote.

Hardin added, “I am grateful for his service and would further state; if the person in this instance had been my own mother, I would have wanted Sergeant Ayres to be the one who took care of her; and 911 Telecommunicators Kelly Nichols and Kaitlin Lewis to take the call.”

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